Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Boom! Studios) Issue 34
Issue 34 is the thirty-fifth actual issue of Boom! Studios ongoing comic book series, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers which begins its numbering with Issue 0. It continues to feature the new team of Rangers in the events of Beyond the Grid, which involves the aftermath of the Shattered Grid comic event. Synopsis As dark forces coalesce around this new team of Power Rangers, they’re confronted by the sinister enemy who’s been secretly plotting their downfall…and that of the entire universe. Boom Studios official site Plot Following mere seconds after the last issue, the Rangers are surprised to see that they are all morphed again as the Solarix supercharges their morphers. Tanya wonders how is its possible she is Zeo Ranger II again as there is no Morphin Grid in this universe. Cam contacts Terona to scan for the Morphin Grid again, though at first Terona and the others on Promethea are more concerned with the fleet of enemy ships closing in on them. Grace instructs Karone to contact the weapons engineers down in special munitions to "wake up an old friend". Cam pleads with him to try again, and to his shock, Terona says that there IS a Morphin Grid energy signature...inside Scout Ship A-99! Cam thinks this possibly confirms his theory, that the Solarix is a fragment of the Morphin Grid itself and that is why Ari can morph. Heckyl scoffs at the idea, as it would be like having a solid chunk of time, gravity or relativity, a force in the universe is not tangible. Cam says yet there it is and whatever happened to it the Grid in this world twisted and distorted it into what they see now. Ari realizes she may be one of the Rangers after all if this is true. The Preator bellows his demands again and threatens to slaughter all of them if he is made to wait any longer. Kim wants to fight the Preator and get Ari as far away as possible, but Tanya offers to try diplomacy first. Her efforts, while commendable, are proven fruitless as the Preator responds with more threats as he rants that his loyal forces will die for him if he wishes it so. Ari blames herself for what is happening but Kim reassures her that it isn't, someone should have been there for her from the beginning to teach her how to be a Power Ranger. She had no friends, no team of other Rangers to support her, no mentor like Zordon. Rangers are never meant to be alone. But Ari isn't alone anymore and her connection to the Grid could be an advantage. Kim tells of how Finster 5 was obsessed with the Morphin Grid and how he theorized its power to create could extend to making constructs of pure energy, with one example being the very suits they wear and the weapons they wield. Since there are six of them connected to the Grid on a very direct level through the Solarix, they can supercharge that ability. Kim asks Ari if she will trust them and she says yes. Kim thinks they can pull a "rabbit out of a hat", resulting in them creating replicas of their old Zords from pure energy with a burst of light from the Solarix. Andros contacts Grace for some "analog support" if their plan starts to turn for the worse as Kim instructs Ari to use the Scout Ship to get as far away as possible to escape and they will hold off the Preator's fleet. The Preator reads the minds of the Rangers somehow and lets out their inner doubts, fears, shame and insecurities as individuals to try to weaken them. The warlord preys on them one by one. Mike's feelings for someone he loves (possibly Tanya or Karone) and how she will never love him back, Heckyl's attempts to redeem himself and how Kim would hate him if she found out the truth, how Kim is a murderer and not a hero and she fears she will eventually return to her old ways of bloodlust because a darker part of herself enjoyed it. Cam fears that he is nothing special and just a Ranger suit, that no one would ever notice him, even if he died. Andros and his love for his sister Karone is twisted by the Preator, who asks if it is hurting Andros's friends knowing they lost everything in the war with Lord Drakkon while he still has something worth fighting for. Tanya's kind heart is tested when the Preator says she cannot save anything, as she doubts her own abilities after the battle with Lord Drakkon as she hesitates to destroy the ships of the Crimson Raiders and tries to disable them. Tanya's doubt and seeing the cruelty of the Preator as he fires on his own men paralyze her and put her in danger. Mike rushes in to save her, regaining control and willing his mind to be clear and calm. He then distracts the ships trying to damage Tanya's Zeo Zord and ends up destroying his Torozord construct in a barrage of laser fire. Ari teleports in and saves Mike by shielding him from the lasers with her Solarix. Tanya cries as she thanks Ari for the save, though Ari passes out for a few minutes as it took a lot out of her. Kim rallies the troops as she yells at everyone to snap out of it and shut out the Preator's invasion of their minds. Each of the Rangers reach out to one another by being emotionally supportive and aiding each other in battle, which makes the mind games of the Preator ineffective as they focus on what is important. Preator tries to break Kim once more by reminding her that she lost her world and she will lose again. Kim ignores him and says she isn't alone and neither is Ari but she gets shot and her Pterodactyl Dinozord construct is ripped apart by a heavy concentration of laser fire from the Crimson Raider ships. Kim is badly injured and floats helplessly in space. Thinking she is going to die, she whispers to Grace that she is sorry she let her down. Ari appears and grabs Kim, saying that she will not leave them and always will be there to catch her when she falls. Grace rushes in with her Mechazord, telling the Preator they will fight as long as they draw a breath and never give up. She uses her Mechazord's space propulsion and arm mounted blade to tear through the fleet of enemy ships. The survivors of the Crimson Raider armada panic and run away, much to the fury of their leader. But the Preator regains his composure as he believes he need not waste time destroying the Rangers. They will simply turn on each other and do the work for him, then he can claim the Solarix from their corpses. The group return to Promethea, with Andros having a heartfelt hug with his sister and Kim introducing Karone to Ari. Kim explains to the skeptical Karone that Ari is the first "Solar Ranger", who then outstretches her hand and they handshake as Karone welcomes her to Promethea and thinks she may be the key to getting them all back home. However, the holo-construct of the Preator looms over Promethea, smiling as he holds his hands out around the ship. To Be Continued... Covers MMPR Issue 34.jpg|Main cover Jamal Campbell boom-retro-34.jpg|Subscription cover Jordan Gibson boom-allrangers-gold.jpg|All Gold Rangers Linda Lithén Notes *'Power Rangers 25th anniversary reference on the Jordan Gibson variant cover:' Once a Ranger. * Skull as the Orange Ranger from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 2017 Annual, a reserve Ranger, joins the Gold Ranger cover as no other Orange Ranger has appeared in Power Rangers at the time outside of a dream sequence, i.e. as in Boom (episode). * The Mechazord aboard Promethea is headlined on the main cover. * This issue reveals that Kim is the one who gave Ari her Ranger name. * For unknown reasons, the backup feature is a repeat print of the one from the previous issue. Thus the Ninjor and Blue Senturion story has not come to its conclusion as of this issue. * Despite Heckyl's claim that the Morphin Grid cannot be a physical object, it has been proven it can be in the past of the main continuity. The most notable instance was when Kira Ford and Ethan James came upon it and saw a vision of their future successors, the SPD Rangers as shown in Before it Began. *Kim's explanation of Finster 5's theory about how Ranger suits are Morphin Grid energy constructs is an actual one that is debated/theorized in the real world by fans. This issue brings potential weight to the theory as possible (albeit in comics only) canon, as supercharged Rangers are able to from complex energy constructs such as Zords through the concentration of willpower and an immense amount of energy from the Grid.